Glass coiling machine



March 13, 1951 5, J GARTNER 2,545,271

GLASS COILING MACHINE Filed May 28, 1942 5 Sheets-Sheet 1 INVENTOR STANLEY GARTNER S. J. GARTN ER GLASS COILING MACHINE March 13, 1951 5 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed May 28, 1942 INVENTOR Mafch 13, 1951 5, J, GARTNER 2,545,271

GLASS COILING MACHINE Filed May 28, 1942 5 Sheets-Sheet 3 y iilfiI-II-II-II-II-I-IE I l 1 1 I I 1 n INVENTOR STANLEY J. GARTNER March 13, 1951 5, J, GARTNER 2,545,271

; GLASS COILING MACHINE Filed May 28, 1942 I 5 Sheets-Sheet 4 INVENTOR STANLEY J. GARTNER March 3, 951 5. J. GARTNER 2,545,271

GLASS comm MACHINE Filed May 28, 1942 5 Sheets-Sheet 5 INVENTOR STANLEY J. GARTNER Patented Mar. 13, 1951 UNITED STATES! ATE-NT entice GLASS ooi LING 'Stanley J. Gartner, Emporium, Pa, assignor to Sylvania Electric Products Inc., ia corporatron of Massachiisetts Application May 28, 1942, Serial 44:4,781

This invention relates to glass coiling machines and in particular tojmachines for forming helical lass coils. A principal object is to provide amachine for automatically Winding and forming helical glass coils with a maximum of accuracy as regards electrical, mechanical and other characteristics,

glass scppiy and'viscosit control unit of the ma whereby coils of a high degree of uniformity can which machine is easily convertible so as to pro duce coils of different cross section, size and P h- A feature of the invention relates to an automatic glasscoil machine which is composed in general of three sections or units,- namely a man glrelor coil-,form-ing unit, a glass supply and viscosity control unit and a coil receiving and support ng uni-t; the three units being adjustably correlated toprovide the desired dimensions and configurations to the finished coil.

Another feature relates to improved cooling and driving arrangements for the forming mandrel of an automatic glass coiling machine.- Another feature relates to an improved coil receiving and supporting arrangement for an automatic glass coiling machine whereby undesired torsional forces are eliminated on the coil While it is undergoing formation in its viscous condition.

- Afurther feature relates to the novel organiza= tion, arrangement and relative interconnection of parts which constitute an efficient automatic glass coiling machine.

ill

, unit; the glass supply and vistas" '37 control u m chine. Fig. 3 an enlarged detail View, partly's'ectionaL-of the Water cooled-iorming mandrel [A Fig. 4 is a section of Fig. 3 taken along the line i4 thereof-l V 'j Fig.5 5 is an enlarged detail view partly see; tional, of the coil forming wheel and its water cooled shaft arrangement. w I

Fig. 6 is a top planview of part of Fig. i, showing parts in section, to illustrate more clearly the mandrel and coil forming mechanism.

fig. 7 is a fron-t end evationa'l view rFig-T3 Fig.3 is enlarged detailview of the coil receiving and supporting unitof the inachi'iiee Fig. 9 is a front-end elevational view of Fig. 1l 3 is a view, largely in section, illustra' a modified iorming mandrel with compressedan cooling.

igs. 1 1 and '12 are respective sections of Fig. i0 taken along the line H 'l and i212 thereof. a Fig. 13 is another View of partof Fig. 6 showing a diffierent adjustment of the mechanism.

- Referring to Fig. the machine comprises in general three interrelated units I, 2 and 3 de gnated respectively as the mandrelj o'r coil for and scripted gunit. U its and the coil recei-v' issii ported I and 3' are carried Toy atable 4" whi on a roller platform 5 borne on rollers 56 whereby the entire assembly may be laterally shifted upon the floor of the room or building in which the machine is operated. A ,i7itically exteiisitie pedestal 6' conne'ctstne table and roller pifififfifffi. A vertically adjustable section 1 earries scrw threads la mating With corresponding tlifds within collar 8' having integral'ai'ins' '91 537 turning collar 8 the talole 6 can he raised or lowered. Mounted in spaced relation above table 4 isa tilta ble platform; I'll which is supported at the forward corners; of taiile' t by crack'et secliens If and If which are; pivet l'ry melted at if. The opposite e'nd oiiplatform It is supported 153! an adjustable elevator comprising the fixed having removably fastened at its forward end the glass coil winding and forming mandrel IS. The mandrel is coupled to the motor 20 through a variable speed transmission 2| and reduction gearing 22. A lever 23 controls the transmission 2| in any well-known manner.

Fastened to platform l are two channel guides 24, 25, which are united at their forward ends by cross piece 26. The horizontal side of each of the guides 24, 25, has an elongated slot 21 through which pass the bolts 28, 29, attached to a roller bed frame consisting of members 3ll33. This frame carries a setof rollers 34 and 35, which receive the formed coil as it leaves the mandrel end l9 and the frame is adjustable along the guides 24, 25, to suit different mandrels and can be locked in position by nuts 36..

Also supported on platform H1 is a bracket 31. having at its upper end a threaded block 38' through which passes the threaded shaft 39 carrying at its lower end a block '48 slidably keyed to the vertical arm of thebracket 31. Thus by turning the handle 4|, the block 46 can be raised and lowered.- Fastened in, and extending through, block 46 are two metal supply pipes 42, 43, which are bent downwardly at right angles to extend below the table 4 and are formed to circular shape constituting a cooling coil 44 which lies in a substantially horizontal plane and substantially directly beneath the mandrel l9. The foregoing described mechanism which is carried by member .5 is arranged so that the coil 44 is substantially, central above a molten glass supply trough 45 (Fig. 2) into which molten glass is f ed. This trough may consist of a sillimanite member 46 which is heat-shielded on its bottom and side walls by members 41, 48 and 49 and by a'sillimanite cover plat 56 having a central opening into which is fitted a sillimanite tubular shield arranged in vertical coaxial alignment with coil 44.. Gas burners 52 extend through the wall of the trough to maintain the glass 53 in a molten condition. The molten glass is adapted to be withdrawn as anfonion 54 tapering to a viscous filament or pull -55 of the desired diameter. The coil 44 surrounds the pirllfadjaceht th fonion to control the viscosity thereof. Shield 5j|j protects the onion and pull from the direct heat of the burners 52.1 This arrangement protides a temperature differential whereinthe glass at. lower. levelsis at ahigh temperature and the surface? glass within shield 5| is at a lower tem plerature, thereby making the surface glass more viscous than the bulk of supply 53. a 1 one of the important requirements of the machine is that certain parts be maintained cool by flowing water; compressed air. or the like. Thus, the winding mandrel which is'shown in detail in Fig. '3 consists .of a coil forming section l9 which has. its surfaceslightly fluted longitudinally of the, mandrel to provide relatively sharp edges which"bite into the viscous pull 55 to take hold thereof as it is continuously withdrawn from the molten glass supply 53;'and then upon contraction of the coiled pull it will retain the grip. The mandrel adjacent the initial forming section is slightly tapered along its axis as shown at T to; allow for shrinkage of the formed glass coil jwhich contracts upon cooling, .and this taper in the mandrel also permits releasing of the coil when it has cooled sufficiently to retain its shape. The forward end of the mandrel terminates in a solid octagonal rod 56'to receive and support the coil as it is fed along the mandrel. Y

The mandrel assemblyis threaded into the for ward end of a hollow rotating shaft 51 which in turn is threaded into a collar 58 containing packcan be rotated under control of motor 26, speed changer 2| and reduction gearing 22 (Fig. 1).

For the purpose of shaping and feeding the glass coil, there is provided a grooved wheel 64 (Figs. 3, 5. and 6) .which has a plurality of pc- Ill.

ripheral grooves 65, 66, 61. Wheel 64 is mounted for rotation around the stationary hollow bearing shaft 68 but is prevented from longitudinal movement by collars 69 and 16. A'metal tube H is positioned within the shaft 68 and a water outlet tube 'lla communicates with the space between 68 and 7| so that the cold water circulates in the direction of the arrows By this arrangement, wheel 64 is mounted adjacent the coil forming section of the mandrel and it can be adjusted relatively to the mandrel to accommodate the begimiing of the winding and to correspond with mandrels of different size. Thus the wheel 64 and its shaft 68 are carried byaswingable doubly off-set member 13 which is fastened to arm 72 on collar 69. Member 13 is pivotally mounted at P and carries a latch 74 which is pivoted at Ma on member 13 and is connected by spring- 78 to the pin T| also carried by member 13. Wheel 64 is thus capable of being locked in its normal running position as shownin Fig. 6 by engagement between latch 14 and projecting lug l5 forming part of the rigid stop member 16 carried by table To facilitate the-beginning of the winding operation, the latch 14 is disengaged from lug 'l5 permitting the wheel 64 to be moved slightly away from the mandrel as indicated in Fig. 13. In this position, the chain 83 sags slightly but does-not become disengaged from the associated sprockets. When the winding has been properly started, the wheel is moved back to its normal running position where it is locked'by latch I4 as above described. For the-purpose of preventing molten glass collecting at point 80 and for guiding the pull 55 during the formation of its initial turn, there is fastened to themandrel a wheel 8| having an inclined surface 8|a facing the Wheel 64.--. Wheel 64 has fastened thereto a sprocket 82 which is in engagement with sprocket chain 83 driven by another sprocket 84 fastened to hollow driving shaft 85. Shaft 85 is mounted in suitable bearingbrackets, as bracket 86 in Fig. 6, depending. from platform l6 andis water cooled by an inner fixed watertube 81 which extends almost the entire length of shaft 85 which is closed at its forward end to provide for water circulation in somewhat the same manner as described in connection with Fig. 3. Shaft 85 is coupled to reduction gearing 22 for drive by motor 26 at a predetermined speed in relation to mandrel 9 by means such .as a gearbox 22a which in Figure 1 appears below gear box 22. Since, therefore, motor 20 drives, as before mentioned, the variable speed gear box 23 and the reduction gearing 22 and the mandrel I9 is coupled to the re duction gearing .22, the coupling of shaft through gear box 22a to reduction gearing 22 rein shaft is and mandrel 19 being arisen:

in aimed time relationshipwith one another. v

For the purpose of rece'h ing and supportingthe hardened :coil as it leaves the mandrel, the "mark drel end extends adjacent a set of three rollers" 83. $0, carry gears l ltl, 102., Whichmesh with an rarer gear'HB. Also removably attached "to shattat a sprocket alfflll -"engageaby-a sprocket chain Hi5. {main W engages another sprocket tal; which is s lidably keyed t'o hollow water cooled shaft 85 so that lit is maintained in rotation during adjusted position or the roller bed tram-e. It should be noted that shaft 85 provided with akeyway HF! atits tor-ward portion where it tends below the roller bed. The roller-8 8 is a floating one and is carried by a lever I08 attached to a hub I09 loosely surrounding the shaft 85. A pair of spaceddownwardly depending H4] may .be fastenedto member 32 to enable the roller 88 to be moved .as .a.with the rollers 34 and 35 when the roller .bedis adjusted on the guides 24, I5. Thus roller '88 can freely ride onthe top of the finished :glass coil Ill and is' independentof thepartiouiarsiae of coil which is wound. By means of members 3!! and 598,-the three rollers can be adjusted to correspond-with the size of coil which is being wound. above mentioned, the roller bed is adjustable along guides 24 and '25 .so that the rollers receive the hardened glass coil as it leaves the mandrel end 56, it being understood that roller $8 is initially lifted out of the way in ender to start the coil between the rollers whereupon roller &8 is allowed to-rest the-coil.

The manner of operation-oithe machine substantial ly as follows. With the-glass supply 53 in molten state, the-platform 5 is moved intoiplace so that the coil 44 is substantially concentric above shield 5|. Handle 4| is then turned to lower the coil 44 into the shield 5| until it is the proper distance above the surface of the molten glass supply 53. The water supply flows through the coil 44 and through the various shafts above described to maintain them cool. In the meanwhile the roller bed frame 30-33 has been adjusted along guides 24, 25, so that the ends of the rollers 34, 35 and 88 are adjacent the mandrel end 56. Then a "bait in the form of a working iron is introduced into the molten glass supply 53 throughout which a proper viscosity gradient has been established. The filament or pull" 55 is drawn upwardly from the molten glass to the mandrel l9 adjacent the inclined surface of wheel 8| at the point 80 as indicated in Figs. 3 and 6. The grooved stripping and form in: wheel 64 is adjusted into position and in the meanwhile motor 20 has been started to cause rotation of the mandrel whose speed can be regulated by the speed changer 2|. The glass filament is wrapped around the mandrel at the point 80 and when it first makes contact with the mandrel its viscosity is sufilciently increased to enable the glass to take the shape of the mandrel. The multi-faceted surface of the mandrel (see Fig. 4) provides added friction to insure continu These bearing estates 8 oils "transfer or the movement of th mandrel to glass filament. wheel 64 provides thrust along the mandrel for feeding the coil along the mandrel. The water coolingof the mandrel conjunction-with wheel 6i: and-an air stream through pipe 5 (Fig. 9, 'cools the glass su fficiently to prevent adjacent sides or the coils from sticking together. .As the hardenedglass coil is fed oil the reduced end of the mandrel, "it is engaged between the rollers 34, andv 88, which continuously support and remove the coil and convey. it to a suitable hnppernr other. receptacle. should be noted that by -nre'azns or; members 11-445 themandrel can :be adzlusted to; any desired angular relation with respect to the: filament 5.5 to control the pitch of the formed coil, within limits established by the. spacing hes; tween the two groovesin wheel .Mland :by the thicknes'sof the fpu'll to be coiled.

- "Instead of employing :a water cooled mandrel a mandrel with compressed air cooling may be employed such as shown in Figs. 1i)1:012,'wl-iere in the compressed air entering at port |2fl1circu-. lates through the hollow shaft 152! to chamber 1.2.2 whence it exits through :a series of small ventopenings 123. The portion i124 of the mandrelis the initial winding portion While the portionplzfi. of the mandrel :is of reduced :diaineter to allow for contraction of the hardened glass coil as above described. Bushing 125 in collar 121a prevents air leakage during the rotation of shaft 1 .2 I while the port assembly Mil, 125., i128, remains stations any. The shaft I121 is provided with apulleyor gear (not shown) whereby it may be driven from. the motor 25 as above described in connection wi'thfi'igs. El and 3. The mandrel is :remova-bly threaded into the internally threaded end of shaft $21 so that :d'ilrerent .size vmandrels can be readily replaced for forming coils :of different internal diameters. .As shown in the cross -sectional view of Fig. 11, the mandrel surfac is fluted .longis tudinal ly :of its axis itsee :Fig. 1.2:) toqprovide relatively sharp :edges '9 .in-mder that theglass will take hold and can be. :drawn from the molten glass batch 53 (Fig. 2) and then upon contractingjwili retain its grip on the mandrel. The reduced and of the mandrel "has threadedf therein :an =;o cta-gonal;v solid rod l3!) which supports the hardened coil as it slides from the end of the mandrel. The compressed air which passes through the perforations I23 tends to cool the glass as it is being coiled and prevents the sides of adjacent coils from sticking together.

With the foregoing arrangements, it is possible to form glass coils of any desired inside diameter,

outside diameter, cross-sectional shape of the coil proper and cross-sectional shape and size of the individual coiled turns and their pitch.

Various changes and modification may be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention.

What I claim is:

1. A machine of the character described comprising a glass coiling mandrel having a free end over which the coiled glass travels and a plurality of rollers adjacent said free end, and having axes parallel to said mandrel to receive and support the hardened glass coil as it leaves said mandrel, and motor means for rotating said mandrel and said rollers in fixed speed relation.

2. A machine according to claim 1 in which said rollers are carried by a roller bed which is mounted for movement toward and away from said man dr 3. 3.11 a mechanism of the character described,

* to the glass pull to control the pitch of -th formed glass coil.

4. In combination, a trough containing a molten supply of glass, a cooling coil adaptedto be positioned adjacent the surface of said supply and to surround a viscous glass pull Withdrawn vertically from the surfaceof said supply, a sup port carrying a mandrel for coiling said pull therearound, said support'also carryingdriving mechanism ior said mandrel, means carried by said support for raising and lowering said coilwithrelation tov said supply and pull, and means to tilt said support to adjust the angular relations between said mandrel andsaid pi/111;: '1'

5. A mechanism "according to claim 4 in'whiclr said support is mounted on another support which is capable of adjustment in two mutually perpendicular planes.

6. In a mechanism of the character described, a mandrel for coiling a viscous glassfilament, a

support for rotatably supporting said mandrel at '1. A mechanism according to claim 6 in which said 'supportis in the form of a tiltable platform whereby said roller bed and said mandrel can be adjusted as a unit to vary the angular position thereof with respect to the viscous glass filament;

8.- A mechanism according to claim 6 in which said support is'in the formof a tiltable platform carrying a driving motor and a speed changer coupled'to the mandrel shaft and to said rollers. '9. In a mechanism for winding glass coils, a winding mandrel-having one free end from which the glass coil leaves the mandrel, and meansto receive and support the coil as it leaves themanswingable lever carrying a third parallel rd 8. drel, the last-mentioned ineans including a slid; ably "adjustable frame carrying ,a pair of roll the axes of which are parallel to said mandrel? and beyond the free end of said mandrel and'awhich freely rests on said coil. v

10, A mechanism according to claim 9 in wh h said pair of rollers are supported in bearings" which are mounted for vertical adjustmentfbel} neath said frame. Y: 1-1. An apparatus for forming a glass helix 11:1. eluding a mandrel for forming aviscousglassff fpull intoa coil, a coil reed control wheel adja cent said mandrel, means'to rotate said mandrel and wheel at a predetermined ratio, hollow-shafts .for said mandrel and wheel respectively',"aii d means to flow-a cooling {medium through said shafts toprevent adhesion ofthe fpull- -t o said mandrel andgvheel, said coil feed control wheel andthe shaft-therefor being 1 i /ot,-.-. ally mounted-withrespect to said mandrel to; cilitate starting of-the-winding of a -coi l,- .-a d a; latching mechanism .for locking said wheel in H25: normal running position adjacent said mend e1 afterthe beginning of the winding.@;-'

STANLEY J. GART g R,

REFERENCES CITE D H The following references are of record in the. file of this patient:-

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